The Virginia General Assembly on Tuesday approved legislation limiting the kinds of acceptable documents that voters may use as identification for casting ballots in the Commonwealth. Specifically, Virginia Senate Bill No. 719 and House Bill No. 1337 remove "several items from the list of acceptable identification documents that a voter must present when voting at the …

The High Court of Australia unanimously ruled on Wednesday that Google did not engage in misleading or deceptive conduct in violation of Section 52 of the Trade Practices Act of 1974. The ruling overturns a lower court ruling. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) brought …

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Wednesday spoke out against the assassination of Chokri Belaid, a political opposition leader in Tunsia. Belaid was killed by gunfire outside of his home on Wednesday morning. Pillay described Belaid as "a prominent defender of human rights and democratic values, and a firm opponent of political …

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Wednesday urged the government of Somalia to reopen the case of a reporter and an alleged rape-victim who were both sentenced to a year in prison Tuesday. Calling the sentences a "serious blow to the fight against sexual violence," Pillay called on Somalia to …

The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said Wednesday that significant progress has been made in ending the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) but called upon the international community to do more to end the practice. UNICEF estimates that more than 120 million girls and women have experienced …

At least 54 countries participated in the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) overseas detention and rendition of at least 136 people, the Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI) reported Tuesday. According to the report, after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 the CIA began a secret detention program in …

The Council of Europe on Tuesday urged Turkey to move more quickly in its efforts to reform legislation. Council Secretary-General Thorbjorn Jagland, speaking at a conference in Ankara, emphasized the importance of reform in the laws governing freedom of expression and anti-terrorism, and the pressing need for action:Freedom of expression and media freedomas guaranteed …

The UK Parliament voted 400-175 on Tuesday in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage in England and Wales. The legislation, which was introduced late last month, would extend the application of the Marriage Act of 1949 to same-sex couples as well as opposite-sex couples. The bill also contains exceptions …

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday filed a lawsuit against credit rating agency Standard and Poor's (S&P) for the misrepresentation of the credit risk of complex financial products. S&P assessed the credit risk of structured financial instruments, such as residential mortgage backed securities (RMBSs) and collateralized debt obligations (CDO), …